One in three Scots live in fear of losing their home in the next few years, shock figures have revealed.
One in three Scots suffer from ‘housing anxiety’ and live in fear of losing their home in the next few years, shock figures have revealed.
Worries over the cost of living, lack of affordable housing and high rent and mortgage payments are all factors leaving more than than a third of Scots stressed over how they will keep a roof over their heads, according to the poll from dozens of organisations.
But what is ‘housing anxiety?’
The Everyone Home collective, a group of more than 40 organisations working around housing and homelessness, asked 1000 Scots last month how concerned they were about losing their home in the next few years.
Around 35% said they were concerned, while almost half of young people (49%) between 18 to 24 said they were worried about it.
Around 21% quizzed by the Everyone Home collective poll said they were much more likely to vote for a political party that prioritises reducing homelessness more effectively in the next five years.
Margaret-Ann Brunjes, chief executive at Homeless Network Scotland, which convenes the collective, said the figures show housing insecurity is “no longer a fringe issue” and is “a weight on the minds of people across Scotland”.
She said: “Younger generations, in particular, feel increasingly locked out of the stability they need to build their lives.”
Gordon Llewellyn-MacRae, Assistant Director at Shelter Scotland explained the signs that Scots might be suffering from ‘housing anxiety’, saying worry is being fuelled by a “fundamentally broken” housing system.
He said: “Many are familiar with that sense of ‘there’s no money left at the end of the month’ and facing that fear of ‘if things went wrong, would I be able to keep this roof over my head?’ That anxiety, that worry, reaches well beyond the smaller but unfortunately growing number of people who fall into the formal homelessness system.
“What these figures do is show just how fragile people think their housing security is. That worry, we know, contributes to why people may find themselves staying in a place that might not meet their needs but they are filled with fear that they can’t afford anything better or if their own personal circumstances change they may struggle.
“We, in Scotland today. see the rise in homelessness and the falling number of new homes being built and we also see people living longer, people living by themselves more often.
“It shouldn’t be automatic that losing your job or becoming ill means losing your home. For some people, a relationship breakdown means the uncertainty of homelessness. We should have a housing system that accommodates the changes in people’s lives. But right now people are scared, they’re worried and these figures show the depth of that anxiety.”
He added: “We certainly see that hope is disappearing for young people. The hope of working hard and being able to afford somewhere decent to live.
“As they look at a lifetime of private renting, where they pay more without the security that previous generations had, it doesn’t come as a surprise that so many have that fear.”
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